Friday, September 6, 2019
Write An Article For Magazine Essay Example for Free
Write An Article For Magazine Essay I am reporting as both a child psychologist and a concerned parent, on the matter of the content of teenage magazines. My own daughter made me aware of this issue when I decided to look through one of her Bliss magazines; I discovered what kinds of stories were printed in them and others teenage magazines such as sugar. I was both shocked and concerned by the material printed in the teen mags and decided that I should write this article to inform other parents of the content of them. The magazines I researched were; Bliss which is aimed at 14-17 year olds and Sugar which is aimed at 13-19 year olds, considering the graphic and persuasive nature of the content of these magazines, this seems, to me, to be an inappropriate age range. Advertisement Archive The magazines are over-spilling with desirable products, which is yet another attraction for teenage girls. On average the magazines contain 17. 5% of advertisements of up-to-date fashion items such as clothes, shoes and fragrances. Some of the products are far too expensive for a teen budget; endless pages of shoes and make-up are sending the wrong signals to impressionable young girls. It tells them that expensive frocks and loads of make-up is what they should have to be in. How many of you have heard the line but mum I need it all my friends have got one. Why? Because like their friends they have been influenced by the media and manipulated into thinking they need named brands to look and feel good. Cheaper high street brands have been advertised more frequently on television, these magazines should adopt the same tactic. This would make teenagers feel more comfortable wearing high street brands and prevent parents from feeling inadequate for not being able to provide the latest Gucci handbag. Real Life Horrors I was kidnapped and sold to a brothel Bliss December 2006 My midnight escape from a sick cult Sugar December 2006; these are just some of the shocking headlines which featured in the magazines I looked at. Is this the kind of literature you thought your daughter was reading? These are not the kind of real issues I would have thought of as appropriate for the 13 year old readers of these magazines. Some of the stories I read, including the ones I have already mentioned, incorporated some vulgar and sometimes quite disturbing details such as as I came round, I vomited on the floor. My head hurt and I was bleeding between my legs the story continued along the same lines in a very descriptive manner. Stories such as these rarely occur in real life and are scare mongering, and can be very disturbing for young readers. These articles do often include help lines enabling teenagers to contact an adult, however I think it highly unlikely that these articles would relate to an average British teenage girl. Though these stories are not stories that teenage girls relate to, they seem very interested in them. This makes me very uncomfortable as a parent and as a child psychologist as I find it difficult to associate the interest in such horrendous articles, to the other interests of the average teenager. I think that stories that relate to the more common occurrences in a teenagers lifes, such as sporting achievements and charities, which they could get involved in would be more appropriate. Picture Perfect All the magazines feature flawless models, dressed to impress on the front covers, with headlines such as 184 a-list model looks and sexiest party fashion. To my 14-year-old daughter and young girls like her, these images are ones that they aspire to. With pictures coupled with the headlines, the covers entice them into the materialistic fashion obsessed world of the a-list celeb. The immaculate appearance of the models is simply not a realistic view of an average teenager, theyre even often air-brushed; the images portrayed could make young girls feel inadequate purely because of natural teenage blemishes. Maybe images of everyday teens would provide a more pragmatic outlook to ordinary girls. The covers are plastered in bright coloured text in varying fonts and offer various stereotypical girly gifts such as pink lip-glosses for that perfect pout. These eye-catching fonts and free gift offers draw the young reader in, encouraging them to buy the over-priced magazines. The magazines are about i 2. 50 each which I would consider to be fairly expensive for a teenager as they usually buy several of these magazines with their pocket money, which is typically in the region i 5 to i 10. To me, as a parent, such magazines would be more acceptable if they were at a more reasonable price and featured fewer stories about celebrities shocking secrets, and more about achievements and real issues.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
An Introduction to the financial tools in measuring Liquidity and Profitability
An Introduction to the financial tools in measuring Liquidity and Profitability Tools that are important in monitoring business are liquidity and profitability. Liquidity refers to solvency meaning how quickly assets can be converted to cash while the income statement measures the financial performance of an entity through measuring profitability. The main financial documents of a company measures profitability and liquidity, the statement of comprehensive income measures profitability whilst liquidity is measured by the statement of financial position. Liquidity is measured by comparing the current assets and current liabilities of an entity. Current assets are resources of a business maturing within a year whilst current liabilities are the short term obligations of a business maturing within a year. Therefore, when measuring liquidity we measure the ability of an entity to cover its short term obligations with its current resources which includes inventory, Debtors, cash in the bank and petty cash amongst other resources. If a firm can cover its current obligations with its current resources twice it is considered liquid meaning it can cover its current obligations with few difficulties and any ratio less than that is considered illiquid meaning the entity will face difficulties in settling its current obligations which is not a good sign for any entity. Profitability is measured by matching revenue for a period with expenses for that period. Revenue is the proceeds an entity receives from selling its products from its core business activities. Whilst expenses are those costs incurred during a period in the process of generating sales revenue. Examples of expenses include electricity, rent, depreciation, salaries and wages e.t.c. The excess of revenues over expenses means the business is profitable whilst the vice versa means its making a loss. Profitability is measured in the income statement, and in addition to cash items it also considers non cash items such as depreciation. As a result profitability is not a true reflection of the cash generated by the business given the fact that it is drawn on an accrual basis. Yearling Ltd The company is faced with disagreements between two departments which are the accounting and finance staff. The accounting staff believes that if the company is profitable it should be able to pay for its obligations whilst the finance staff disagrees. The elaboration in the above paragraphs has explained profitability and liquidity and differences can be identified from the explanations. That is profitability means the ability of the firm to cover its operational expenses with its operational revenue and this includes cash and non cash items and hence can not measure the ability of a firm to pay its obligations. On the other hand liquidity measures the ability of a firm to cover its obligations with its resources and hence a perfect measure of the ability of the firm in covering its financial obligations. Hence, a profitable firm can be illiquid i.e. can face liquidity challenges in meeting its obligations. Conclusion The financial managers staff is right in advocating for party budget cut in order to reduce their financial obligations given the challenge they are faced with. On the other hand the accounting staff are wrong in thinking that a profitable firm implies liquidity as these are two different things as was discussed in the previous paragraphs. Question 2 Question 3 3.1.1. Debt Ratio Aà debt ratio compares a companys totalà debt to its total assets. Debt consists of the amounts borrowed or owing to creditors. The ratio is used to gain a general idea as to the amount of leverage or debt being used by a company. A low percentage means that the company is less dependent on debt or leverage i.e. money borrowed from and/or owed to others. The lower the proportion, the less leverage a company is using and the stronger its equity position. This is so because the lower the chances that the company will be liquidated to meet the debt obligations. In general, the higher the ratio, the more risk that company is considered to have taken on. Debt ratio is calculated by the following formula: For the companies under discussion their debt ratios are as follows: Pelican Paper Ltd Timberland Forest Ltd 1000000/10000000 5000000/10000000 10% 50% Timberland Forest Ltd has got a high ratio of 50% compared to the ratio of Pelican Paper Ltd of 10%. This means that Timberland has a high financial risk as it is financed by debt more than Pelican. The more debt compared to equity a company has, which is signalled by a high debt ratio, the more leveraged it is and the riskier it is considered to be. 3.1.2. Times Interest earned Ratio A metric used to measure a companys ability to meet its debt obligations. It is calculated by taking a companys earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and dividing it by the total interest payable on bonds and other contractual debt. It is usually quoted as a ratio and indicates how many times a company can cover its interest charges on a pre-tax basis. Failing to meet these obligations could force a company into bankruptcy. The ratio is calculated as follows: Times Interest Earned=Earnings before interest and taxes/interest For the two companies their respective ratios are as follows: Pelican Paper Ltd Timberland Forest Ltd 6250000/100000 6250000/500000 62.5 times 12.5times Pelican Paper Ltd has a high times interest earned ratio of 62.5times compared to Timberlands of 12.5times. This means Pelican has a high ability to cover its debts compared to Timberland as reflected by the number of times they can cover their interest obligations with available earnings. Conclusion Timberland has a high financial risk reflected by a high debt ratio and a lower time interest earned ratio. 3.2 3.2.1. Operating Profit margin Operating profit margin is the proportion of operating profit to Sales revenue for that period. Operating profit margin indicates how effective a company is at controlling the costs and expenses associated with their normal business operations. A high ratio means a high profitability whilst a lower means less profitable. The ratio is calculated as follows: Operating profit margin = operating profit/sales The respective ratios for the two companies are as follows: Pelican Paper Ltd Timberland Forest Ltd 6250000/25000000 6250000/25000000 25% 25% The companies has the same ratios and this implies that they are equally good in managing their costs and expenses hence profitability based on this ratio. 3.2.2. Net Profit Margin The ratio measures the percentage of profit available to ordinary shareholders to Sales. This number is an indication of how effective a company is at cost control. The higher the net profit margin is, the more effective the company is at converting revenue into actual profit. The net profit margins are a good way to compare companies in order to gauge which ONES are relatively more profitable. The ratio is calculated by the following formula: Net profit margin = Earnings available for ordinary share holders/sales The respective ratios of the two companies are as follows: Pelican Paper Ltd Timberland Forest Ltd 3690000/25000000 3450000/25000000 14.76% 13.80% Pelican has a high ratio compared to Timberland which means a high profitability based on this ratio. Therefore Pelican is profitable than Timberland. 3.2.3. Return on Total Assets Measures profit in proportion to total assets, in other words the effectiveness of management utilising the available assets in generating profits. A high ratio means greatest effectiveness and profitability. The ratio is calculated as follows: Return on total assets = Earnings available for ordinary shareholders/Total assets For the two companies the respective ratios are as follows: Pelican Paper Ltd Timberland Forest Ltd 3690000/10000000 3450000/10000000 36.90% 34.50% Pelican has a high ratio compared to Timberlands hence high profitability. 3.2.4. Return on common equity Measures the return earned on the ordinary shareholders investment in the firm. The amount of net incomeà returnedà as a percentageà of shareholders equity.à Return on equityà measures a corporations profitabilityà by revealing how muchà profit a company generatesà with the money shareholders have invested.à à ROE is expressed as a percentage and calculated as: Return on Equity = Net Income/Shareholders Equity Net income is for the full fiscal year (before dividends paid to common stock holders but after dividends to preferred stock.) Shareholders equity does not include preferred shares. The two companies ratios are as follows: Pelican Paper Ltd Timberland Forest Ltd 3690000/9000000 3450000/5000000 41% 69% Pelican has a lower return on equity compared to Timberland and based on this ratio Timberland is more profitable compared to Pelican. 3.3. Timberland has become more profitable because of the larger debt. Debt has a fixed interest payment and its tax allowed meaning it is tax deductable and as a result a high debt means a high interest payment and lower tax hence increased profits. 3.4. The risks undertaken by Timberland investors are basically financial risks which include the liquidity risk, interest rate risk and credit risk. Question 4 Item Change(Rands) inflow(I)/outflow(o)/neither(N) Cash +100 I Trade and other payables -1000 O Short term borrowing +500 I Long-term borrowing -2000 O Inventory +200 O Non-current assets +400 O Trade receivables -700 I Net profit +600 Depreciation +100 N Repurchase of shares +600 O Cash dividends +800 I Sale of shares +1000 I Question 5 5.1. Year Cashflow PVIF(5%) PV 1 800 0.95 761.90 2 900 0.91 816.33 3 1000 0.86 863.84 4 1500 0.82 1234.05 5 2000 0.78 1567.05 Present Value of mixed cash flows 5243.17 5.2. The amount that can be paid at most is 5à 243.17 5.3. Present Value of the mixed cash flows at 7% is as follows: Year Cashflow PVIF(5%) PV 1 800 0.93 747.66 2 900 0.87 786.09 3 1000 0.82 816.30 4 1500 0.76 1144.34 5 2000 0.71 1425.97 Present Value of mixed cash flows 4920.37 An opportunity cost of 7% implies that the investor will be prepared to pay less now and earn the same return as the one who pays more at 5% return. Question 6 6.1. Risk Averse Describes of an investor who, when faced with two investments with same or a similar expected return and different risks, will prefer the one with the lower risk. Given the trade off between risk and return its means risk averse investors will always lose on a potential of earning higher returns as investments with lower risks tend to have lower returns. 6.2. Risk indifferent This describes investors who overlook purposely risk when deciding between investments. They are also called risk neutral investors and they are mainly concerned with an investment expected return. 6.3. Risk seeking Describes investors who are willing to take additional risks for investments that have relatively low expected return. This contrasts with a typical investor mentality risk aversion. They tend to take higher risks in an effort to earn higher returns. They are also termed risk lovers. 6.4. Financial managers are best described as risk averse as they always seek to minimise risk when they make financial decisions. Question 7 7.1. Standard deviation measures the deviation of the returns from the expected return whilst range measures the differences between the highest possible return and the lowest return of a project. The higher the standard deviation the higher the risk whilst the same can be said about range, therefore project A is less risky as it has the lowest standard deviation and range compared to other projects. 7.2. Project A has a lower standard deviation 7.3 Standard deviation measures extend at which the returns are dispersed from the expected return of an asset. But it does not measure proportionately, so given different returns standard deviation will not be proper to use it as a measure of risk for purpose of comparison. 7.4 Coefficient of variation = Standard deviation/Expected Return Project Coefficient of variation A 2.9%/12% 0.24 B 3.2%/12.5% 0.26 C 3.5%/13% 0.27 D 3%/12.8% 0.23 7.5 Coefficient of variation is a best measure of risk for purposes of comparison as it measures proportional deviation from the mean. Given that Grassland owners are risk averse they will choose a project with the lowest coefficient of variation which is project D based on the table above. Question 8 8.1 Comparison of Ordinary shareholders and other providers of long term capital Ordinary Shareholders Other Suppliers of long term capital Dividends to be paid are at the discretion of the companies board of directors Receives a fixed interest whether the company made profit or not. Dividend payments are taxed Interest payments are tax deductible Permanent form of financing They mature Have secondary claims to assets and income of the company. Have primary claims to income and assets of a company. Owners of the firm Creditors of the firm Have voting rights Dont have voting rights. 8.2 Rights offering are when ordinary shareholders are offered new shares at a discounted price first before they become available to the public. Therefore, this offering protects a firms shareholders from dilution of their holding in such a way that they are given preference to maintain their holding first by being offered proportional new shares to their holding. In that manner protected from a possible dilution if they were to be taken by new shareholders. 8.3. Authorised Shares Authorised shares quantify the maximum total shares a company can be allowed to issue. In other words it is the number of shares a company is authorised to issue highlighted in its articles and memorandum of association. It is from this that the company can decide on the number of shares that it can issue and can only issue at most to this amount of authorised shares otherwise it can issue less. Issued shares Its the number of shares that has been issued and paid for and it represents part of the amount equity reflected in the statement of financial position. These also represents the amount of he authorised shares held by the public. Issued shares represents the sum of issued and treasury shares. Treasury shares A company can decide to purchase part of the issued shares back for some reasons. If it does the shares will be held by the company and they do not participate in any thing i.e. they do not participate in voting nor receive dividends. These types of shares are the ones termed treasury shares 8.4. Preference shareholders tend to have more favourable basic rights in terms of the distribution of earnings and assets compared to ordinary shareholders. They often have features of debt instruments which makes them superior in terms of claims compared to ordinary shareholders. The claims that preference shares will be discussed in the paragraphs that follow; Preference shares have a fixed claim on the firms income that takes precedence over the claim of ordinary shareholders. This makes them less risk compared to ordinary shareholders as they have guaranteed income. Given that they are participative preference shares they will also have preference over ordinary shareholders in the distribution of earnings. Furthermore, if they do not receives the dividend earnings it implies the ordinary shareholders they have not as well. This then makes and shows that the ordinary shareholders are the true risk takers. In the event of liquidation, preference shares do have a preference over ordinary shareholders in claims over assets of the firm. In other words they are paid their initial capital first before ordinary shareholders could be paid. 8.5. The cumulative future of preference shares refers to the guaranteed payment of dividends to the shares irregardless of the performance of the company. In the event of a company having less financial resources to pay for the dividend, it will be deferred and paid as and when the company realizes the resources to pay. In other words the dividends are accumulated and paid when the company can. For example, if a company is liable to pay a 10à 000 dividend annually for preference shares and it happens that one financial period the lack financial resources to pay the dividend they defer it to the following financial period. As a result, in the following financial period they will have to pay a dividend of 20à 000 which covers the 10à 000 for the last period and the 10à 000 for the current period. Question 9 Valuation of shares with no dividend growth, the formula is as follows. 9.1 Share price = Dividend per share/cost of capital 2.4/0.12 R 20.00 9.2 2.4/0.2 R 12.00 9.3 The higher the risk the higher the value, a lower interest rate results in a higher value. This is so because the lower the interest rate the higher the risk of default and that risk should be compensated by an increased capital value. The reverse is also true for a higher interest rate as it has resulted in a lower capital value.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Essay --
Imagine: boy meets girl, they fall in love, they marry, they die out of passion for each other. Now imagine this happening over the course of three days. Does the love they shared appear as true as before? Romeo and Juliet is known as one of the most romantic story ever written, though the Prince could not have said it any better, ââ¬Å"For never was a story of more woe / than this of Juliet and her Romeoâ⬠(5.3.320-321). It's almost ironic how Shakespeare's play is often thought of as a story of true love, and not as a tale of two immature youth who believe they hold more than simply infatuation. Shakespeare shows that the love shared by Romeo and Juliet is nothing more than naà ¯ve attraction. For instance, (cut here?) Romeo is depressed about being ââ¬Å"out of loveâ⬠meaning the attraction he feels is not mutual, but he instantly forgets about his lovesickness, and the one he was in love with, when he locks eyes with another girl. This means that he never actually h ad true love to begin with as he first thought. There are characters in this story of immature love who recognize the inconsistency of Romeo's love and that Romeoââ¬â¢s feelings are nothing more than sexual attraction. (NOTE: FIX THESIS!) When Romeo is first introduced, he is depressed about being ââ¬Å"out of loveâ⬠because Rosaline, the girl he is supposedly in love with, does not return his affections. In Benvolio's attempts to persuade Romeo to forget her and find other women at the Capulet's party, Romeo angrily yells, ââ¬Å"One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun / Neââ¬â¢er saw her match since first the world begunâ⬠(1.2.98-100). He says that no one could possibly match the beauty of Rosaline. Romeo believes he knows love, but really, he wants love. He is in love with the idea of being... ...m a true love. Even Juliet was ignorant enough to say ââ¬Å"That ââ¬Ëbanishà ¨d,ââ¬â¢ that one word ââ¬Ëbanishà ¨dââ¬â¢ / Hath slain ten thousand Tybaltsâ⬠(3.2.124-125) after Romeo had killed Tybalt and was banished for it. She is stating that banishment is worse than the murder of ten thousand Tybalts. Though, who is to say what true love is and how long it takes to develop? Romeo and Juliet could in fact be in love, but it cannot be denied that they are going about it in an immature way. Romeo believed he had found eternal love with Rosaline, but one look at Juliet and he forget about his lovesickness and then decided Juliet was his true love. This inconsistency was seen by other characters such as Mercutio and Friar Laurence, who say that Romeoââ¬â¢s feelings were merely infatuation and not love as he had said they were, showing that Juliet is a replacement Rosaline. (NOTE: FIX CONCLUSION!)
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Essay --
Objective: The objectives of the lab were to gain understanding of how to naturally separate a compound that has particles that are not easily removed and to use basic qualitative tests to identify the major components of whole milk3. Introduction: First of all, milk is a very complicated mixture of many compounds in which the dispersed particles do not settle out. This is called a colloid4. These particles have a very difficult time settling out because they have an insignificant settling rate because their small mass has a low gravitational pull compared to the surface frictional force5. All of the substances in milk are very essential because milk plays such a huge role during the infant stage of all mammals. While milk is well known for its richness in calcium, it contains many more essential nutrients, including protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fat. During this experiment, each of the nutrients above will be tested for. â⬠¢ Protein is a very important nutrient because it has many functions that it does in the body, like fighting diseases, renewing cells, builds muscles, and helps to maintain healthy hair. Milk is a very good source of protein because it contains almost 8 grams1. Proteins consist of amino acids that are held together by a peptide bond. Not all proteins have the same function and are created the same way. Even though all proteins are made of amino acids, there are 20 different amino acids that can be chosen to make a particular protein. In order to be able to extract the protein from the milk, one must understand proteins on a molecular level, and how they react to changes in their environment. The amino acids that proteins are formed from have different side chains, which determine how they funct... ... urinalysis strip, it turned brown, indicating there was 1000mg/mL of glucose. This was also the same as the control group. During the test for calcium, the solution turned a milky white color, which was identical to the control group. Some source of error during this experiment would be that some of the whey fell down the beaker, while the remaining was in the flask. This could cause an error because there was not as much whey as there should have been and this might affect the concentration of how much of each component is in the whey. Conclusion: Due to the results from all of these tests being positive, it can be said that every component that should be in whole milk does exist. This concludes that all whole milk, no matter what the mood of the cow, will have the same molecular components, consisting of proteins, carbohydrate, calcium, phosphate, and lactose. Essay -- Objective: The objectives of the lab were to gain understanding of how to naturally separate a compound that has particles that are not easily removed and to use basic qualitative tests to identify the major components of whole milk3. Introduction: First of all, milk is a very complicated mixture of many compounds in which the dispersed particles do not settle out. This is called a colloid4. These particles have a very difficult time settling out because they have an insignificant settling rate because their small mass has a low gravitational pull compared to the surface frictional force5. All of the substances in milk are very essential because milk plays such a huge role during the infant stage of all mammals. While milk is well known for its richness in calcium, it contains many more essential nutrients, including protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fat. During this experiment, each of the nutrients above will be tested for. â⬠¢ Protein is a very important nutrient because it has many functions that it does in the body, like fighting diseases, renewing cells, builds muscles, and helps to maintain healthy hair. Milk is a very good source of protein because it contains almost 8 grams1. Proteins consist of amino acids that are held together by a peptide bond. Not all proteins have the same function and are created the same way. Even though all proteins are made of amino acids, there are 20 different amino acids that can be chosen to make a particular protein. In order to be able to extract the protein from the milk, one must understand proteins on a molecular level, and how they react to changes in their environment. The amino acids that proteins are formed from have different side chains, which determine how they funct... ... urinalysis strip, it turned brown, indicating there was 1000mg/mL of glucose. This was also the same as the control group. During the test for calcium, the solution turned a milky white color, which was identical to the control group. Some source of error during this experiment would be that some of the whey fell down the beaker, while the remaining was in the flask. This could cause an error because there was not as much whey as there should have been and this might affect the concentration of how much of each component is in the whey. Conclusion: Due to the results from all of these tests being positive, it can be said that every component that should be in whole milk does exist. This concludes that all whole milk, no matter what the mood of the cow, will have the same molecular components, consisting of proteins, carbohydrate, calcium, phosphate, and lactose.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Quest for Freedom in The Yellow Wallpaper :: Yellow Wallpaper essays
Quest for Freedom in The Yellow Wallpaper à The short story "The Yellow Wall-Paper" written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a cry for freedom.à This story is about a woman who fights for her right to express what she feels, and fights for her right to do what she wants to do.à The narrator in this short story is a woman whose husband loves her very much, but oppresses her to the point where she cannot take it anymore.à This story revolves around the main character, her oppressed life, and her search for freedom. à à à à à à There are many male influences in this woman's life and although they may mean no harm, push her over the edge.à The main character's husband, John, and her brother are well-known physicians.à They use their power to control the main character, perhaps subconsciously, to feel what they think a woman should feel.à For example, the woman tells the men she is sick but they believe differently. "John is a physician, and perhaps- (I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind-) perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster.à You see he does not believe I am sick!"(507)à The men are under the impression that what they say goes and therefore the woman has no choice but to follow.à "He knows there is no reason to suffer and that satisfies him."(508)à This quote illustrates that the men are in control.à If they strongly believe nothing is wrong, then nothing must be wrong.à It is a feeling of self satisfaction the men feel when they are superior to the woman. à à à à à à The main character knows John loves her, but it is the oppression she feels that bothers her so.à Her husband expresses his love for her but at the same time imposes his will on her.à He hinders her from having her own thoughts. "...He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction..."(507)à The last few words of this quote show how John did not let her have any freedom because he was always there.à John acts as if he knows what the main character feels at all times. Quest for Freedom in The Yellow Wallpaper :: Yellow Wallpaper essays Quest for Freedom in The Yellow Wallpaper à The short story "The Yellow Wall-Paper" written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a cry for freedom.à This story is about a woman who fights for her right to express what she feels, and fights for her right to do what she wants to do.à The narrator in this short story is a woman whose husband loves her very much, but oppresses her to the point where she cannot take it anymore.à This story revolves around the main character, her oppressed life, and her search for freedom. à à à à à à There are many male influences in this woman's life and although they may mean no harm, push her over the edge.à The main character's husband, John, and her brother are well-known physicians.à They use their power to control the main character, perhaps subconsciously, to feel what they think a woman should feel.à For example, the woman tells the men she is sick but they believe differently. "John is a physician, and perhaps- (I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind-) perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster.à You see he does not believe I am sick!"(507)à The men are under the impression that what they say goes and therefore the woman has no choice but to follow.à "He knows there is no reason to suffer and that satisfies him."(508)à This quote illustrates that the men are in control.à If they strongly believe nothing is wrong, then nothing must be wrong.à It is a feeling of self satisfaction the men feel when they are superior to the woman. à à à à à à The main character knows John loves her, but it is the oppression she feels that bothers her so.à Her husband expresses his love for her but at the same time imposes his will on her.à He hinders her from having her own thoughts. "...He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction..."(507)à The last few words of this quote show how John did not let her have any freedom because he was always there.à John acts as if he knows what the main character feels at all times.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
A Review of Saint Augustineââ¬â¢s Virtue and the Human Soul Essay
In Augustineââ¬â¢s article ââ¬Å"Virtue and the Human Soul,â⬠happiness is discussed in great detail. What makes a man happy? How do we obtain this happiness and where does happiness reside? Can this happiness be lost? Augustine answers these questions by the notion of oneââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"chief good.â⬠He explains that a manââ¬â¢s chief good is the reason behind all happiness. If one is not happy, it is because they have not found their chief good, and therefore cannot be happy until they find it (Augustine 264-267). ââ¬Å"Happiness is in the enjoyment of manââ¬â¢s chief good. Two conditions of the chief good: 1st, Nothing is better than it; 2nd, it cannot be lost against the willâ⬠(Augustine 264-267). As human beings, we all want to be happy and live enjoyable lives. However, Augustine believes that only one type of person can fully achieve happiness, the man who both loves and possesses their chief good (Augustine 264-267). He describes three other cases when happiness is not obtained. First, one who seeks what he cannot obtain suffers torture (Augustine 264-267). This means that someone who strives for something that they will never be able to reach is not happy. Secondly, one who has got what is not desirable is cheated (Augustine 264-267). This is saying that someone who has received happiness in a way that they do not like, or has received happiness that they do not want, can never be happy. Thirdly, one who does not seek for what is worth seeking for is diseased (Augustine 264-26 7). This final case is when someone seeks happiness through things that are wrong and not worth having. In all of these three mentioned cases, oneââ¬â¢s chief good has not been found. Augustine continues in the article by discussing how manââ¬â¢s chief good is not inferior to man itself, but more as an equal to man. The chief good then must be something that is never lost against the will (Augustine 264-267). The chief good, once properly in the heart of a man, can never be taken away. It resides fully in the inner workings of man and is buried so deep within that nothing could ever take away the happiness. ââ¬Å"For no one can feel confident regarding a good which he knows can be taken from him, although he wishes to keep and cherish it. But if a man feels no confidence regarding the good which he enjoys, how can he be happy while in such fear of losing it?â⬠(Augustine 264-267). For example, when you go to a pet shop and see all the cute puppies. You want to hold them and pet them, and it makes you so happy for that brief period. However, you know that the happiness can be taken away from you, because you donââ¬â¢t own the puppies, you donââ¬â¢t get to take them home. Ultimately, you walk away sad, and wishing you could hold on to that happiness just a little longer. It is hard to be confident in a happiness that you know can be taken away from you at any time, and itââ¬â¢s equally as hard to have no confidence in your happiness because you live in fear of never being happy. Augustine continues his discussion of what makes a man. The question lies in the discussion between man being of the body only, of the soul only, or both. He talks about this to determine where manââ¬â¢s chief good resides, and from where it is discovered. ââ¬Å"Manââ¬â¢s chief good is not the chief good of the body only, but the chief good of the soulâ⬠(Augustine 264-267). Augustine states that a personââ¬â¢s chief good is found in the soul and that the soul gives life to the body. The soul provides bodily pleasure, pain, strength, beauty, swiftness, etc. Without the soul, there would be no body, and without the body, no soul. They work together in order to achieve the chief good for man. Augustine gives the example of a coachman who works for him. The coachman does the most satisfactory job of caring for the horses, all because Augustine has provided the funds and bounty to the coachman. Can any one deny that the good condition of the horses is due to Augustine? (Augustine 264-267). His point is that without his money and horses, the coachman would never be able to do the job he was assigned, and because of Augustine in this example, the coachman can provide the happiness and care to the horses. This relates to the body being a direct worker of the soul. The body is the outward laborer of the soulââ¬â¢s control. Augustineââ¬â¢s article is summed up in the discussion of virtue. ââ¬Å"Virtue gives perfection to the soul; the soul obtains virtue by following God; following God is the happy lifeâ⬠(Augustine 264-267). Augustine debates whether or not virtue exists on its own, or if it can only exist within the soul. He says virtue must exist on its own because the soul must have something to follow after in order to attain that virtue. Virtue must be gained; it is not already contained within the soul. This virtue, according to Augustine, belongs in the pursuit of God. As mentioned before, Augustine believes that oneââ¬â¢s chief good cannot be taken away against oneââ¬â¢s will. Therefore, it must remain that God is the virtue one seeks. Through following God, oneââ¬â¢s chief good, happiness, and virtue can be both loved and possessed (Augustine 264-267). After reading and re-reading this article, I feel I have finally found the true meaning of what Saint Augustine was saying. Happiness cannot just be attained by the snap of a finger, by a simple glimpse of hope. Happiness must be sought after in a way that completely fills the soul and in a way that one can feel they are completely confident in their happiness. I agree with Augustineââ¬â¢s argument for the pursuit of God in finding happiness. I believe that God is the creator of happiness and virtue, and that through him anyone can find their chief good. My question to the class is this: do you agree with Augustineââ¬â¢s argument of happiness only coming from within the soul and God, or do you believe happiness can be obtained to its fullest potential in a different way? Work Cited Augustine, Saint. ââ¬Å"Virtue and the Human Soul.â⬠Vice and Virtue In Everyday Life. Comp. Christina Hoff Sommers and Fred Sommers. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
Delimiting the Central Business district in Chippenham
A CBD is a central business district. This is the place where the majority of office blocks are and a large amount of comparison shops and shopping outlets. Also a factor that shows is that the land rent is high leading to the land being used to its full potential. I predict that there are several places in chippenham that could be possible CBD's. These are as follows: * In the upper part of the town near to the station * In the central high street * On the outskirts of town located in the bumpers farm industrial estate. Out of these I believe that the high street and the centre of the town are most likely to show characteristics of a CBD. Methodology How we can delimit the CBD of chippenham In order to find out where the CBD of chippenham is we are going to have to do one or two of several things. We will use the things that CBD's have in common and test chippenham to find where these things are most prominent (where the CBD will be). Some of the test that we can use will be: * Finding where the pedestrian density is the highest * Where the larger frontages of the shops are * Where there are a higher amount of fast food restaurants and cafes * We could use the nearest neighbour analysis on the shops * We could use the proportion of the shops and retail outlet compared to the other land used (in the CBD) it would be higher * We could conduct a business index (if we could gain access to the buildings) We have decided that due to a limit of time and recourse we will us the following method to find the CBD of Chippenham: * We will do a pedestrian count at several sites around the centre of the town, counting the amount of people that walk past us in a minute. We will repeat this get an average. * Pace out the frontage of the shop to find if there are any with a much larger space than others (these will probably be the chain stores). * And count the number of fast food and restaurant outlets from the arches to the market place at the top of town, as this will give us an idea of where the demand for fast food is at the highest. Once we have done this we will be able to plot graphs and draw conclusion of where the CBD is. Results and graphs A graph to show the pedestrian density on the centre of Chippenham This graph shows very clearly that as we get closer to the centre of town the density of pedestrians increase which is what we would have expected. Woolworth's is the place where the highest density is this is the middle of the high street. A graph to show the shop frontage of Chippenham town centre The largest shop frontage is on the eastern side of the street which includes Wilkinsons and Woolworth's. The largest shop frontage appears to be in the centre of the high street also agreeing with the prediction that I made. Evaluation From the evidence we have gathered we can see that the CBD of Chippenham is the centre of town. The pedestrian count showed a higher density of people in the centre than any other location in the town. There we a high amount of fast-food outlets and cafe in the town centre but these numbers decreased the further a way form town you got. The shop frontage count showed that the majority of large shop frontages were chain outlets and the larges ones we positioned in the town centre. However there were a few exceptions like Iceland which had a high frontage but want located in the centre. We also made an observation that in the north of the town there are a high amount of solicitors and building societies. These are comparison businesses so rely on each other for their trade; this is why they are all so close together. If I were going to this experiment again I would change certain things depending on the amount of money and recourses I had available to me. I think I would try and have a higher amount of people doing the pedestrian counts so that I could have larger amounts of data. This would hopefully improve the quality and accuracy of my results. I would have done the experiment at several different times if day to find out if that had an influence of the data. The experiment was done on a temperate day so I don't think the weather would have affected the results. I would have done the frontage of the shops with slightly more accurate equipment (measures with instruments rather than pacing). Thins may have had a bearing on the results however I think that the pacing method was fairly accurate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)